


Misapprehension

by Labradoodling



Category: Elena of Avalor (Cartoon)
Genre: Alternate Universe, Awkward Romance, Both parties are oblivious, Elena is Queen and Esteban somehow is still Chancellor, F/M, Flirting, Misunderstandings, Naomi grew up in Norberg, No Timeskip, Shuriki never existed and all is good in the world, kind of
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-03-27
Updated: 2020-03-27
Packaged: 2021-03-01 03:48:00
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,206
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/23338648
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Labradoodling/pseuds/Labradoodling
Summary: Proudly born into a family of poor sailors, Naomi Turner knew not to mingle too much with the royal circles. But sometimes you want your very own ship, you need a job, and being a handmaiden requires, at the very least, to accompany your Crown Princess to all sorts of lavish gatherings she attends.Even so, Naomi refused to embarrass the Norberg Royal Family and herself in the presence of some vain peacocks.And then she got a liking to one.
Relationships: Esteban & Naomi Turner, Esteban Flores/Naomi Turner
Comments: 1
Kudos: 26





	Misapprehension

**Author's Note:**

> This is a very self-indulgent fic with a pretty open ending, though I doubt it will be continued. Not much to say that the tags don't mention: everyone is in the same generation and an adult but you are free to imagine the exact ages and setting.  
> Either way, enjoy!

"Matilda, shush! You are absolutely shameless!" A gloved hand slapped a pearly white one, as the other covered the face of a smiling young woman.

"And you, Angela, dear, you aren't far behind!" Her friend exclaimed in as much of a sarcastic tone.

Angela let out a fake gasp, trying hard not to laugh at her friend. "But to talk about the nobles in such a vulgar way?"

"Ugh, and I thought you were smart! Do you have any idea how much these royals want to take off those tight p-"

Naomi was not amused. Matilda and Angela were the royal seamstress and hairdresser respectively. Charming girls, with too big of a mouth for their own good. If it was gossip you wanted to hear, those two were your best friends.

And frankly, Naomi found their chit chat to be rather annoying. What if anyone heard their comments? Did they not know what kind of vultures they were surrounded by?

Sensing her exasperation, a dainty hand touched her shoulder. "Just let them be, Naomi, it's not often we get to host such a big ball in the palace." She heard a high-pitched peppy voice ring behind her.  
A fluffy cloud of red curls overtook her vision, before emerald green eyes glimmering with glee locked on her own sea blue ones.

That would be Princess Chloe, daughter of Queen Abigail and heir to the throne of Norberg. 

"And with so many cute guests at that." the princess continued and turned with a wink to a handsome noble that was eyeing her intently. She seemed to be having a nice evening so far.

Chloe turned her attention back to Naomi, cupping her hands with a little more force than she'd like. "You should relax and have some fun as well!"

"I'm mostly here to make sure you have everything you need, Chloe." Naomi laughed nervously. And it was true. As Chloe's handmaiden, her job was to make sure that her majesty had company and assistance whenever she needed it, not to flounce around the dance floor. "Balls… aren't really my thing anyway."

For a moment she thought she heard Angela bitterly mumble "prude" but she decided to ignore it. The three of them knew very well that she and Matilda would directly jump at the opportunity to act as if they were part of the royal court.

"Aw, but Naomi! You aren't here to help me! You're my friend and I want you to enjoy yourself tonight!" Chloe's smile only widened. Chloe, just like her mother, was known for her open-hearted nature. People who worked for her, let alone her handmaiden, she'd often consider more than acquaintances and she certainly wasn't afraid to express affection towards them. May that be handshakes or bone-crushing hugs.

Norbergians knew their princess was kind and approachable. If not just a bit naive.

But Naomi knew better. She was aware that behind the enthusiastic demeanor, the Norbergian heir was a dynamic presence, a woman who would make sure to take what she desired and let no one fool her on the way there.

Still, she remained kind, and Naomi had to admit that despite their professional relationship, she had grown to think of her as a friend too in a way. 

It's just... when it came to royalty, balance could easily be shifted. One wrong move from her, and Naomi could embarrass the entire royal family. Something she feared from the other two buffoons that had the luck to befriend Princess Chloe.

Yet, she had to admit that they could navigate through royal circles far more gracefully than she. For Naomi was hardworking but she originated from a hamble family of sailors. How was she supposed to pass for a noble in this extravagant ball?  
She had a strong work ethic and arguments to keep any conversation going for hours, sure, but did not know how to dance or speak eloquently with royal adversaries like Angela and Matilda could. And all that while gracefully hiding petty insults and quick glares behind their fans.

"If it's really that hard for you to take some time off like that, then think of it as a reward for helping me get ready. Goodness knows how many layers this gown has." The princess exclaimed with a mock-surprised expression, eyeing down her heavy flamboyant dress.

"Seven, if you include the petticoat." Naomi found herself giggle remembering the struggle the duo had been through just a few hours ago.  
"Aaand I suppose I could try that…" she reluctantly let herself be convinced.

"Perfect!" Chloe's face beamed. She was right after all, this girl would not be satisfied until she got what she wanted.

Naomi let a sigh of relief escape as the redhead made her way to a group of guests who were blissfully chatting.

She looked down at her dress, idly playing with the ribbon that was firmly tied around her waist. She had spent the entire afternoon getting ready for the big event, and Chloe had even offered to help her with her makeup.

She looked noble, but if that was actually the case, everything wouldn't seem so utterly boring. Dancing seemed like the only activity that could bring any joy to this crowd of blasted peacocks, that would in no way have a discussion without shoving their opinion down her commoner throat.

The buffet seemed to be her only salvation. Either she'd stand around like a potted plant, possibly allowing guests to insult her awkward presence, or stuff herself with the delicacies and at least get out off there with a full stomach by the end of the night.

Sounded like a solid plan. As she was making her way towards the table however, a booming sound brought her to a halt.

"Hey, you!" She turned around to find a finger pointed right in front of her face.

Being caught off guard, it took her awhile to figure that the person addressing her was none other than King Hector, ruler of the neighboring kingdom. It was… hard not to know a figure as eccentric as his, and the loads of jewelry adorning his fingers and neck where an obvious indicator.

She, however, had never actually been addressed by any foreign royalty, let alone a man as snobbish and distant as he. What could he possibly want from her?

"Yes?" She gulped as he finally retracted his hand to his chin.

His attention shifted to a taller man she hadn't noticed just yet. "Now you shall see that anyone in this room can easily tell I'm right!" King Hector laughed triumphantly, as his interlocutor exasperatedly rolled his eyes.

Naomi let herself take notice of the other man. He must have been a good one feet taller than her, for she had to lift her head up to make proper eye contact. His eyes were a warm brown that momentarily felt like they pierced her soul as he took notice of her.

She was pretty sure she had never once seen him. He was a royal, no doubt about it. The way he poised himself, a look of unmistakable arrogance on his face. But judging from his clothing he must be an adversary from one of the more distant kingdoms Norberg was allied with.

"So tell me-" before she could inspect the man any further, King Hector demanded her full attention. She was both afraid and curious to hear his inquiry.

"My Royal Majesty's superb and brand new five-masted sailing ship is no competition for a mere boat… a clipper from Avalor, wouldn't you agree, lady?"

Avalor...so that's where the other man was from. She noticed him eyeing her with great disinterest, as if he was expecting her to give out a quick answer just to please King Hector, like anyone would do. 

That wasn't going to happen. She wasn't going to give a snob the satisfaction.

"Well, King Hector-"

"That is 'Your Majesty, King Hector' to you." he rudely interrupted as he straightened his blinding golden crown.

"Yeah, yeah." She intended to dismiss the comment politely but the manchild of a ruler before her could not be taken seriously. "Five masts are indeed in favor of a ship going faster-"

"Ha!" King Hector elbowed his partner, who she could see from the corner of her eye was still intensely staring at her, a frown painted on his face.

"But." She said firmly, bringing the attention back to herself. "Because I imagine such ship would have to be rather...well, huge, you'd have to consider its bulk and cargo load. A smaller clipper could actually be far better for speedy overseas travelling, right?"

Naomi could see the ruler in front of her surprised at her answer, his mouth agape before his complexion started reddening. She prayed the king didn't make a scene so she tried to offer the most charming smile she could muster at the moment. She mentally pictured herself as an awkward mess however, since her pride and satisfaction couldn't easily be contained.

"Bah!" The plump man turned his back on both her and the Avaloran noble before leaving, without as much as giving a warning. "What would a girl know about ships?"

Success. King Hector was out of her hair without as much of a fight. She couldn't help but let a smirk spread on her lips.

"Really, what would you know about naval engineering?" It's only then she realised she had not heard the man speaking until now.

His voice was deep and smooth, far smoother than she anticipated, and if she expected it to sound whinny and pompous before… well, the words came out of his mouth like honey.

And his question...unlike Hector's demeaning comment, he seemed to be actually interested in her knowledge. He still was rather stiff however, slightly gravitating towards her with his hands behind his back.

"Wouldn't you like to know? Didn't expect me to catch him off guard, huh?" She smirked, her arms crossed under her chest.

The man in front of her replied with a smug smile of his own, visibly far more relaxed after the king's departure. "When you have to deal with Hector you can only pray he goes away. So I suppose I'll have to thank you, Miss…?"

In all her years in the palace Naomi never actually got to introduce herself to visitors, unless of course, her princess did that. And now he was asking for her name, hoping to start conversation? A voice in the back of her mind was screaming for her not to interact any further but the attention that came with someone genuinely wanting to listen to her?

Her cheeks flushed lightly as she finally answered. "Turner. Naomi Turner."

"Miss Turner." He said simply, and almost looked like he was taking this new information in. She was never addressed in such a formal manner, and neither she had a desire to do so, yet the way he said it sounded so right. "Chancellor Esteban of Avalor."

Esteban, huh? She couldn't put her finger on why but she liked the sound of that.

Wait…Chancellor? As in a foreign minister?!

"I see King Hector and I interrupted you from enjoying the delicacies. Could I perhaps serve you some wine? Champagne?" He offered, the picture of a perfect gentleman. And yet previously his aura indicated a self-important man that wouldn't possibly affiliate with a commoner from the port like her.

Eyes half lidded, she playfully smiled and she couldn't tell why she had the irresistible urge to tease him. "I guess it's the least you could do, yes." That seemed to surprise him a bit but his look was amused. "Some red wine would be nice, thanks."

She watched as he perfectly poured the wine in one of Queen Abigail's finest crystal glasses before offering it to her. As she reached for it, her fingertips barely brushed along his skin, sending a small shiver down her spine. 

Why was she like this?

Esteban proceeded to pour a glass of wine for himself before turning his attention back to her. "So, how are you liking this ball, Miss Turner?"

There it was again, and her heart skipped a bit. "It's fine but really? Kind of boring." She laughed and took a quick sip of her wine before her flushed face could be attributed to anything else.

"I'm assuming you'd rather be sailing?" He quickly replied and she could see a smirk behind his glass as he took a sip of his own.

"Haha, very funny." She scoffed jokingly. "If you must know however, yes, I would very much prefer that."

"I must admit the feeling is mutual. The trip on the way here was rather pleasant too." He sighed, gently twisting a finger around his goatee. "Would your studies include that?"

Her… studies? What was he talking about?

"I mean, I have traveled around Everealm with my parents since I was a child. I got to know quite a few things after a while." She said honestly, hoping her answer was sufficient.

He gave a small nod and let himself smile at that. "Ah, I too used to sail a lot with my parents." She thought she saw a flash of melancholy cross his face. Maybe that was just her.

She decided to keep it up. "I know Avalor is surrounded by ports and beaches." She tucked a lock of blonde hair behind her ear, eyeing him sideways. "I've heard a lot about it but this is the one place I don't think I've ever been to before."

Esteban huffed out a laugh, returning her gaze. "You haven't, you would remember it."

"Oh." Her voice lowered. "Is Avalor really that beautiful?"

He looked serious, so sure, but the answer almost came out as a whisper as he turned to face her. "The most beautiful." 

Before thinking, she raised a playful eyebrow and just as surely said  
"Then perhaps you should take me sailing there."

…

What.

On.

Earth.

Did.

She. 

Just.

Say?

Panic washed over her face. Why did she say that!?  
If the Chancellor was only mildly interested in her before now he must be completely disenchanted.

Was that too inappropriate?! It probably was, it sounded like she was outright flirting!

...Was she?

She maintained the eye contact, if she looked away now, she'd look more like a fool. On the bright side, she could easily blame it on the wine. He didn't know after all that years living on a ship and high alcohol tolerance go together.

For the first time this night, inspecting Esteban's face, Naomi thought she saw his own cheeks claiming a red hue. His mouth was stuck in a small "o", and although it all seemed like eons to her, only a few seconds had passed.

Unexpectedly, he gave her yet another nod, before a grin took up most of his face, his neat mustache completely changing angle.

What?

"I would like that very much, Miss Turner." He slightly raised the hand holding his glass. "Once of course, we are both unoccupied with royal business."

Royal… business? But he hadn't told her she was Chloe's handmaiden. Had he perhaps seen her talking to her before and assumed? Like he assumed her love for sailing-

Oh, wait.

Studies? Royal business? Did he… Did he think she was a noble?!

"Primo! Over here!"

Before she could answer to that, the voice of a young woman penetrated the silence. She turned her head to see she was dressed in a fine crimson gown, a golden tiara glistening in her head, rich brown locks framing her beautiful face as she waved at Esteban's direction.

"Ugh, Elena…" he sighed, a hint of annoyance at his voice. "I have to go, if you'll excuse me."

She gulped but nodded nevertheless. "Sure, go ahead." 

"It was a pleasure to meet you, Miss Turner." He said before planting a gentle kiss on her knuckles. 

Naomi's world stopped for a moment, her hand feeling numb at the place his lips touched it.

"It's been nice meeting you too." She managed to say, praying he didn't see the mess she was.

He gave yet another charming smile, he turned around and just like that he was lost in the crowd.

Naomi stood there, beside the considerably emptier buffet table, for a couple of minutes when she felt someone violently grab her arm.

"You can't be serious, Naomi!" a voice shrieked.

Was that Matilda?

The blonde still couldn't fully processed what was happening but the chatty duo before her looked angry and determined.

"Did you just land yourself a royal?"

"And Esteban Flores at that!"

She wasn't sure how to respond. "D-Do you know him?"

"Duh, of course! He is the cousin of Queen Elena!" Matilda exclaimed, pointing at the direction of the regal woman in the red gown.

That was the Queen of Avalor? And Esteban was her cousin? That'd explain the familiarity.

"He's Avalor's most eligible bachelor!" Matilda's face now had a dreamy expression, before she let out a distressed scoff "But he's a jerk!"

"He's so difficult! How did you even have a stuck-up royal like him smiling like that?!" Angela seemed legitimately amazed by the situation.

"I...I don't know?" Naomi simply shrugged, pretty uncomfortable by the discussion at hand "We were just talking. He was being nice and all."

"So much for a prude, Angela!" Matilda turned to her friend, a look of pleasant shock on her face. "Give it a month's time and she'll have him begging on his knees!"

Things weren't supposed to be going that direction! Seeing how the girls before her were smiling and giggling, she knew it was time to intervene. "You are both getting the wrong idea!"

Angela pouted "But you never talk to anyone like that in balls."

"It just happened, okay? I couldn't just get myself out of a conversation." There was a growing pain in Naomi's temples by this point.

Angela raised an eyebrow. She looked... disappointed? "Did you really want to?"

Naomi's eyes fell on the floor for a moment as she got lost in thought. She didn't really. If anything, she wished the conversation could be longer.

"Anyway, you should probably let Chloe know, Avalor is far away and you'd like to keep correspondence."

Her attention snapped back to Matilda. There was one way to end this. "Thanks. I'll consider it."

The two of them beamed at that and finally willingly let her on her own.

Was she, really into a guy she just had a glass of wine with at a ball? A royal? Who also thought she was of noble birth? That laughed with her and listened to her and kissed her ha-

She was getting over herself. She recalled that prince, Alonso was his name? How in every visit of his he would shower Chloe in the most extreme of compliments. Royals could be playboys and it would be foolish to believe in all their sugar-coated words.

Yet Esteban just felt different. He wasn't keen on her until they talked. There was some sort of… respect growing there?

She needed to find out if that was the case.

Perhaps she could actually consider the option of letters.


End file.
